After a Horrible Day Post Day 3
by tm24
Summary: Michelle breaks down after Day 3. TM. Rated T for a little bit of language. Please Read and Review.


_Disclaimer: Don't own 24 or its characters_

_Note: AU Fic Day 3, The virus was contained in Mexico- Michelle never went to the Chandler Plaza Hotel and none of the kidnapping/treason stuff happened. This is a one-shot unless I get enough reviews to make another… but I probably will do a 2nd chapter at least…review please!_

_Michelle breaks down after a day from hell._

Tony and Michelle both walked out of their debriefs at the same time. Their paths crossed in the bullpen.

"You ready?" questioned Tony's cold voice?

"Yeah," came Michelle's meek reply. "Just let me grab my stuff."

"I'll meet you at the car," were his last words before walking towards the parking garage.

Michelle grabbed her jacket and purse from her workstation. She began walking towards the parking garage where Tony was waiting for her, impatiently no doubt. Nothing had been right between them since he returned to CTU after being shot in the neck. She knew he was angry at her but he didn't know, or care to know, or understand what she had been through during the day. While dealing with a national crisis, she also had to deal with her husband being shot and back at work mere hours later.

When Michelle reached the parking garage, she saw Tony in their SUV waiting by the elevator. This was the kindest gesture he had made all day. She got in the car and instantly looked out the window as to avoid Tony's gaze. After driving out of the garage, Michelle saw that it was raining. A tear glided down her cheek but she quickly brushed it away. She didn't want Tony to see her cry.

They reached their house and both ran inside to avoid getting wet, or wetter than they already were. Tony and Michelle ate a silent dinner of pizza picked up on the way home. They put their plates in the sink to be washed at a later date as both were too tired to do anything about them now. Michelle and Tony ascended the stairs and entered their bedroom to begin getting ready for bed.

Michelle exited the bathroom and sat down on the bed. She began to get under the covers when she saw Tony approach the bed. He grabbed his pillow and the blanket that resided at the end of their bed.

"Where are you going?" quietly asked Michelle.

"I'm sleeping on the couch," was Tony's cold, short reply.

"Oh," was all that escaped Michelle's mouth. She was so shocked. They had had their fights before, but never big enough to resolve with Tony sleeping on the couch. He made his way out of the room and down to the family room.

As Michelle saw the door to their bedroom, their supposed "safe haven", slam shut, she couldn't control her emotions anymore. The tears threatening to spill all day were finally released and oh they came. She cried for everything that occurred during the day. Her sobbing was uncontrollable and she had never felt more alone in her life.

Michelle heard the door open and she quickly turned to her side and pretended to be asleep so Tony wouldn't see what a mess she was. Tony walked into their room and saw Michelle under the covers. He had forgotten to brush his teeth so he retreated back to the upstairs bathroom to complete the task. Tony turned off the water and bathroom light and exited the bathroom. Michelle heard him leaving their room. It had taken almost all of her energy to control the volume of her sobs. Tony was at the door when he heard a sob escape his wife's mouth. She couldn't hold it in anymore. He immediately rushed to her side. He turned her around so she was facing him. Tony was taken aback to see how tear-stained Michelle's face was; and all this time he thought she was asleep.

"What's wrong Michelle?" asked Tony, although he already knew the answer.

"Everything," came her teary reply.

"What? Why is that?" Tony was seriously surprised at her response.

Michelle's voice grew quiet, almost to the point of a whisper.

"This…" she took a shaky breath, "this whole day has been a mess." Tony started to say something but he stopped himself. He knew if he interrupted her, she might not feel secure enough to continue.

"Do you know how it feels to know that someone, one of two government agents, your husband being one of them, was shot at the location in which your husband was in the field? And do you know how it feels waiting to find out who was shot? And when Jack came to the phone, I knew my worst fear had come true. My heart broke when Jack told me that my husband, the love of my life, my soul mate, was shot in the neck. But I couldn't break down. I was the ranking agent so I needed to be strong when what I really needed was to be with you."

Tony's heart was aching for Michelle. He knew she had had the day from hell but he had no idea what really went on. Michelle drew in a big breath and continued.

"I checked up on you ya know," she said. "In the OR. It had video feed and I had one of the tech guys put it on my screen. I saw the doctors operating on you. It was so hard to watch you lying there, not knowing if you were going to make it."

Tony's eyes began to fill with hears. He didn't know any of this occurred. He had the greatest wife in the world.

"When the doctor called and told me that you were gonna be alright, I was ecstatic. I had my best friend back. I wanted to get to you as fast as I could but Chappelle stood in my way. He eventually let me go and the drive to the hospital was the longest drive of my life. I caught every fucking red light along the way. I finally made it to the hospital and literally ran to your room. Seeing you alive and smiling was all I needed to get me through the rest of my day, but then it all went to crap when we got back to CTU."

Tony listened with such intensity and patience. He wanted and needed to fully understand Michelle's pain. His beautiful, kind-hearted wife was in such pain and he knew it was because of him. It tore his heart to pieces. He traced the tracks of tears with his thumbs and silently urged her to continue.

"Tony, I want you to know that I didn't turn you into Chappelle because I thought you were incompetent or unable to do your job. I was worried about you. You were shot in the neck and wouldn't stay in the fucking hospital." Michelle was near hysterical now.

"Shh, honey, it's gonna be alright," Tony whispered and drew her into his arms. Michelle leaned into Tony's embrace but continued. It actually felt better to get it all out.

"And then there was the briefing when you made me look and feel like an idiot about updating the stuff in Europe. After everything that I went through, that one close to tops the list of crap that I had to endure and keep inside. And when we got home and I needed to be comforted most by my husband, he decides to sleep on the couch. I've never felt more alone. You know, I actually questioned whether you still loved me." With this last statement, she completely broke down. She cried and screamed and Tony just held her. A single tear transcended down his cheek and he spoke.

"I will never, NEVER stop loving you baby. You are my world. You are the most amazing, loving, gorgeous woman on this planet. You have endured more pain today that anyone should have to and I know I am the reason. I have been a horrible husband today; I admit I was angry when you turned me into Chappelle, but that was because of the stress of the Salazar mission. Not you. And I'm sorry I had to keep it from you. It tore me apart hiding something from you; I tell you everything and not being able to tell you this was killing me. I trust you with my life. But in spite everything that happened to day I never once questioned my love for you. It is the thing that keeps me running through the day. We're going to get through this, baby. I know it'll take a while for you to forgive me and I promise with all of my heart that I will make it up to you."

As he finished speaking, Tony had a steady flow of tears running down his face. Michelle had calmed down and looked at her husband. She had never seen him cry before. She repeated his earlier actions by tracing and drying his tears. He took her hands in his and placed soft kisses on them.

"I love you sweetheart," said Tony's emotion-filled voice.

"I love you Tony," whispered Michelle.

She leaned over and kissed him. He happily returned it. The kiss was one filled with the pent up emotion and passion of the day.

"I forgive you," Michelle said in the same quiet tone as before, "on two conditions."

"Anything," Tony quickly replied.

"Hold me while we fall asleep, and tomorrow, we start working on our future."

"Sounds perfect," Tony said as he drew Michelle into his arms and began to slide them under the covers.

Michelle and Tony shared a final kiss before falling into a peaceful sleep that neither expected they would have after the day from hell.

_Please press that little button and leave a review! They always inspire me to keep going. Tell me if you want another chapter to this, like Michelle and Tony working on their future, or not. Thanks for reading this!_


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